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Kyndall

This summer should be nicknamed “Zoo Summer”. First, we visited the Nashville Zoo, then The Little Zoo That Could, and, most recently, the Birmingham Zoo. Both girls have birthdays soon and when we asked them what they would like to do, my animal-loving Kyndall decided to go to the zoo instead of having a party.

We woke up bright and early Monday morning and made the two-hour drive to the Birmingham Zoo. (Unbeknownst to us, the zoo was offering a discount for Pokemon Go players. TIP: Be sure to ask for any daily discounts at the ticket window!)

For a typically sweltering summer day in the south, the animals were out and about a lot more than I expected. The baby bears were running and playing, a giant hippo was out of the water catching some rays, and a rhinoceros lounged about, napping in the sun. We didn’t make it to the big cat exhibits on this trip, but we did catch a peek of them prowling around as we rode by on the zoo’s train!

The Birmingham zoo’s resident camel, Hope, gave the girls a quick ride. (Speaking of camels, and in case you haven’t seen Zootopia, let me entertain you with a camel joke: What do you call a three-humped camel? Pregnant!! Ha. Ha. Ha.)

And of course, my girls always have to take advantage of all photo props. How cute is that giraffe and gorilla?

Since it was such a hot day, we took advantage of the Birmingham zoo’s super cute splash pad area. The zoo has two huge splash pads, complete with variating water sprays and a bucket that dumps water. It was the perfect way to cool off in the middle of our zoo exploration.

The girls made fast friends with Leo the giraffe. He loved the lettuce they fed him and the keeper was great at encouraging the girls to interact. She had them hold the lettuce behind their back so they could feel Leo’s tongue, over their head so he had to reach out and get it, and up close so they could pet his head.

The lorikeet exhibit was one of our favorite things about the Birmingham zoo. We were able to feed them nectar and they kept landing on us. At one point, Kyndall had four birds lined up across her shoulders. She was in Lorikeet-heaven!

After a super fun-filled day at the zoo, this is exactly what we ALL felt like doing!! Since we didn’t have a super comfy stroller to ride in, that wasn’t an option.

The Birmingham zoo also has a huge zip-line course that looks amazing. On our trip, the zoo’s scales were not working properly, so we weren’t able to participate. I definitely recommend giving that a go if you are at the zoo, though.

My future animal scientist/birthday girl was able to talk to several of the zookeepers about what she could do as a future career. While she is still leaning more toward marine biology (so she can work with dolphins!), her second option is to study animal science and become a keeper for the elephants!

First things first, I want to apologize for the lack of posting last week. It was Book Fair week at school, which is always crazy. By the time I got home in the afternoons, I was beat. Done for. Finished.

So we are starting our week off with a “Currently” post. Be sure to check back Wednesday and Friday for our Panama City Beach recaps, too.

This girl loves to drive up the driveway. Before we are even pulling in, she’s calling from the backseat, asking if she can climb up front and drive. Maybe all this practice means she’ll be a safe driver once she gets her license….maybe.

Via Snapchat (which I’m kinda-sorta-addicted to right now. I’m CourtneyW41, add me.). This little serpent was on the road going back to our hay barn–right where we walk!

A few months ago, I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia. I don’t have any issues with my sugar going high, but it drops low super fast. Libby seems to have the same problem. We’ve been keeping a check on her sugar now, too, and it consistently runs low. Lots of snacks are in her future!

Sunny farm days call for snuggles with the big dog. (Max has taken to the farm like a duck to water, by the way.)

This girl turned another year older. When Justin and I met, she was, like, seven. I can’t believe she is about ready to graduate from high school and go out into the real world. Oh my.

Farm chores. Just feeding the heifers a little sweet feed. (The girls argue over who gets to shovel the feed. It’s the funniest thing!)

Papa had a medical scare this week. His esophagus had a small tear on the inside, which required a short stay in the hospital. That didn’t mean the kids took it easy on him though–they will crawl on him and steal his food and fight for his attention, regardless of where he is!

Be still my heart. This boy is the older brother the girls didn’t get. We love him so. I think the girls would love to steal him away and have him come live with us, but we don’t quite have the room at Pops and Gra-Gra’s house!

Evidence of above-mentioned book fair. On Friday, Justin brought the boss to work for a while. He thought he ran the place, that’s for sure.

Our school hosted its first annual Father/Daughter dance. I don’t know who was more excited–the girls or Justin! They got all dressed up and cut a major rug at the dance. I’m so thankful they got to have this time together!

At current count, we have four ducks and six chickens. Each time Mallory makes a trip to Tractor Supply for food and shavings, she comes back with more birds! The kids adore them though. They check the food, water, and shavings multiple times a day. They love to just sit in the garage and watch them run around. They have named every single bird. Me? I’m just waiting for them to start laying eggs! These birds have gotta earn their keep somehow.

This sweet baby boy. He is almost 16-months old and we are working on weaning him from breastfeeding. It is not going well, though. He just doesn’t understand. At naptime the last several days, he has cried himself to sleep. It breaks my heart. I keep hoping each day is going to be better, but so far it’s not. Say a prayer for us, would you?

Today we are wrapping up Read Across America Week at school. (As an elementary school librarian, Read Across America week is my favorite! And who doesn’t love a good dress-up day?) We celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday and all things related to reading all week long. In addition to getting our tongues-tied reading all those Dr. Seuss books, we had lots of fun dress-up days.

Monday was school-wide SUPERHERO day, since the theme of Read Across America this year is a superhero theme. Then, on Monday night, we hosted a Family Fun Reading night. There was cake and games and a book swap and crafts and a super photo backdrop…..all kinds of good family fun.

(Did you sing that title? They’re playing bas-ket-ball. We love that bas-ket-ball. Lil Bow Wow. Anyone?)

Kyndall just wrapped up another season of basketball. She LOVES playing basketball. And when she plays, she plays hard. She leaves everything she has on the court.

I know these girls are only nine and ten, but they played for keeps. Practices were tough. Can I tell you how much I love girl sports? They develop bonds between friends that last lifetimes. And, according to this study, women who play sports are 74% more likely to succeed in business.

This year, Kyndall’s team did really well. I think they finished the regular season with 10 wins and 4 losses, or something like that. On Saturday, they played in the West-side championship for Morgan County and brought in second place. It was a good game, but they just couldn’t pull in the win.

During this season, I’ve realized some life lessons that are taught through basketball. In no certain order, here they are.

You win some, you lose some, but you should both win AND lose graciously. Play your hardest and accept the outcome, either way. Don’t sulk. Don’t cry. Don’t blame the ref. Don’t be a sore loser.

If you keep running the same play, you’ll get the same results. Sometimes, we have to re-adjust the game plan.

Be a team player. Pass the ball. Cheer for your teammates. No one person can win a basketball game.

Don’t be afraid to take the shot.

Hustle. It doesn’t matter if you have a controlled dribble or a great layup if you can’t beat the other team down the court.

Passion beats talent 90% of the time. It doesn’t matter if you can make the shot if you don’t care to make the shot.

Respect the coach. Even if you don’t agree with their decision, the coach is in charge.

You are responsible for yourself. If another player gets mad and acts a fool, that’s on her/him. How you act is on you.

It takes a minute to shake out the nerves. At the start of every game, every player is nervous. Give it a minute and a few good plays and those nerves work their way on out.

Would you add anything to my list? What lessons have you (or your children) learned from playing youth sports?

This is our monthly installment of the silly, weird things my family has said during the month of October. Enjoy!

While curling Libby’s hair, I accidentally hit the top of her head with the end of the curling iron. She got all upset and said, “Mama, I’m calling WHR.” Sweet girl, I think you mean DHR but I don’t think either of those agencies are going to do you any good right now.

Kyndall is a very…. spicy….person. She is blunt and sarcastic and says exactly what she thinks. We have been talking to her for a while now about using words that are encouraging and uplifting. We were having a conversation one day about getting her hair cut and how she does not want it cut. She wants it long like Rapunzel. I told her that Rapunzel’s hair was frizzy and nappy because she never had it cut. She popped back with “Your hair is frizzy and nappy.” (This is the kind of things she says, meaning it as a joke. Only sometimes, people who are more precious than us, don’t get the joke.)

I laughed and asked her what happened to her being encouraging and uplifting. She said, “Mama, I have been encouraging and uplifting all day at school and I am tired of it!”

Libby had a rash come up on her back for a few days. One morning, while standing in front of the pantry looking for a snack, she came up with this little ditty:

Itchy, itchy, I feel bitchy.

She sang it through twice before I caught on to the words and noticed Kyndall’s wide-eyed look. This baby girl of mine still doesn’t understand the whole curse word thing 🙂

At school the other day, I was checking out a first grade classes library books. There are two little boys in the class who have the same last name–one is white and the other is black. I started joking with them asking if they were brothers, since they had the same last name. Finally, one, exasperated with my joking, said, “Mrs West–we are so different!! We have different hair!” 🙂

Kyndall loves soccer. This is her fourth year to play and it just keeps getting better. She is fast. She is aggressive. She plays with passion. All the things that make a great soccer player.

She has played with the same coach and most of the same players every year. These kids know how to play. They have learned each others rhythms and moves. They know each others strengths and weaknesses. They’ve won as a team and they’ve lost as a team. But this year, they only won. Undefeated, all season long.

Justin helps coach and I couldn’t be prouder. He is so calm and patient (even when the ref’s calls are crap and I’m going bananas on the sidelines!)

And this year, all their hard work paid off. They won medals as champs for the west-side of the county.

And were awarded trophies when they defeated Lacey Spring and became the Morgan County U10 champions. I am so excited to watch these kids play soccer in high school. They are going to be exceptional, I already know it.

I’ve really enjoyed gathering the random, funny things that are said in my little family into the previous “That’s What She Said” posts. So I thought I’d do a monthly round up. Below you’ll find a collection of humorous stories, mostly from Libby, that were recorded during the month of August.

Libby was informing Justin and I that she wants another baby brother. (Just to clarify–she doesn’t want to replace her baby brother, she wants an additional brother.) Justin laughed and told her that was not going to happen. She looks at him, all full of sass, and says “You don’t know. Life is life. God makes those decisions.”

Libby got in the car after school one day and told me that a boy in her class was saying ugly things. I asked what he was saying and she replied: “He says ‘Libby, Libby guess what!’ and when I say ‘What?’ he says “Deez nuts!”. While extremely inappropriate for her little second grade self, I couldn’t help but get tickled that these kids are saying this.

In the car, Jayden told us he was getting his hair cut at “La Trega.” Kyndall said, “AUSTRALIA? What are they going to do, cut a kangaroo into your hair?” (This was something right out of her daddy’s playbook. She definitely has his sense of humor.)

Leaving the doctors office the other day, I was directing the girls on which way to go through the hospital. I said “To the left. To the left.” and at the same time, both girls started dancing and singing “Now kick, now kick, now walk it by yourself.”

At the beginning of every year, our school has a Bus Evacuation Drill with students who normally ride in a car. Apparently, things weren’t explained clearly because Libby stopped our vice principal on the way out to the bus and said, “Coach Stephens, I am NOT jumping out of a moving bus!”

I am a very emotional person, but not many things make me cry. On the short list of things that do are my kids growing up, issues of injustice, and any act of patriotism. (Those soldier-coming-home-surprise videos get me every single time!). So you can imagine the mess I was on Friday when my big girl participated in putting up and taking down the flags at our school.

Mrs. Burt showed them the ropes…..literally. They were taught how to fold and unfold the US and Alabama flags, how to attach the flags to the ropes on the pole, how to raise and lower the flags, etc. They were spoken to about respecting the flag–that it is not to touch the ground, that it comes down if it’s raining, etc.

I was so proud to hear the respect and pride in Kyndall’s voice as she talked about this job. Pride in our country and respect for our flag is something that, unfortunately, has been lost. It is such a breath of fresh air to see patriotism being instilled in our kids again!

We started day four of our Disney vacation with a character breakfast at Hollywood & Vine, inside Hollywood Studios. We were the first family of the day, so we were the only ones (that day!) to get a group picture with all four characters. They gave us a “First Family” certificate and everything!

Libby posed in every picture we took. For the longest, I couldn’t figure out why her eye was covered in the picture with Jake. Then, I noticed her hand–it’s a hook. So that’s her pirate pose, I guess?!?!

After breakfast, we went straight back to ride Aerosmith’s Rock-N-Roller Coaster, because I didn’t get a fast pass for that. Libby wasn’t quite tall enough to ride, so she and I went to Tower of Terror while everyone else rode RNR. From there, we rode Toy Story because we DID have fast passes. (This is a must for a fast pass–if you don’t get one, the chances of you riding are slim. People RUN as soon as the gates open to get in line for Toy Story!)

Then we met Buzz and Woody. (This is Libby’s Buzz Lightyear pose. To INFINITY and BEYOND! :))

We saw the Little Mermaid show, the new Frozen Sing-A-Long show (WHICH IS HILARIOUS AND JUST PLAIN AWESOME!!). We attempted to see the Lights! Motors! Action! stunt show but the weather was nasty so they cancelled. We did get to see Indiana Jones, but they shortened the show due to the inclement weather as well. Mal got picked to be an extra on the Indiana Jones show and was able to participate in the whole thing!

The characters were still out during all the rain, so we met Mike and Sully. Jase was really confused by all the characters, but Sully really blew his mind. We had been at the parks from open to close all week, so we took full advantage of the rainy weather and headed back to the resort a little early to get some much-needed rest!

Our last day was Kyndall’s actual birthday and she wanted to go to her favorite park–Animal Kingdom. We had reservations for breakfast at Tusker House restaurant, which is also one of our favorites. Libby and her ‘fierce’ pose. For the love.

At breakfast, we met Mickey, Donald, Daisy and Goofy–all in their safari outfits. The breakfasts are really good–they are all buffets so you have your choice of pretty much any breakfast food you could possibly want.

We rode Expedition Everest (about five times, because of rider swaps, fast passes, and short lines!), the Dinosaur ride, and Kali River rapids all early in the day. We watched Festival of the Lion King, which is usually our favorite but good seating is a must at that show and we didn’t have it. We also watched It’s A Bugs Life, which is always super cute.

Along the way, we met Baloo and King Louie, Pocahontas and Tarzan. Tarzan was our favorite. GraGra commented that he must really love his job. He got SO into his character and spent a good bit of time talking to the girls and Jase and even Mallory and Hannah. We had never met Tarzan before, so it’s always exciting to meet a character for the first time.

We finished up our Animal Kingdom time with a safari tour and the animals were really active. We saw baby giraffes, lots of different types of deer, a lion and lioness, and LOTS of crocodiles. Since the park closes early, we dropped the men off back at the resort to rest up for the drive home and we headed to Hollywood Studios to catch the fireworks and Fantasmic.

The Hollywood Studios fireworks show is now Frozen-themed and it was nothing short of amazing. No spoilers, but you have got to see it if you are in Disney anytime soon. Somehow, in all our Disney trips (this was our 5th since the girls have been born) we have always missed the Fantasmic light show. It was really fun, but Jase was done by the time we got there. Every time he would fall asleep the music would get really loud and wake him up, so I spent the majority of the light show trying to calm him down. The girls loved it though, and danced the whole way through!

It’s funny how I love Disney and hate Disney all at the same time. It is non-stop fun but we go, go, go and leave ex-haust-ed. Seriously, I felt like we needed a vacation after that vacation. It was hot and rainy, but we still loved it. The girls had a great time and declared me “best Mommy ever.” They think Justin is pretty great too, but he wasn’t there when they decided this. 🙂

I think this will be our last Disney trip for a while. I want Jase to get to experience it when he gets older, but we have a lot of other things we want to do with the kids and Disney is expensive. Maybe we’ll return in about 5 or 6 years….maybe!

Our Disney trip was so much fun and I want to make sure to tell you all about it. There is just so much stuff that I decided to break it up into two separate posts, but each part is still pretty lengthy. So grab a cup of coffee, prop your feet up, and enjoy part 1 of our Disney vacation recap. 🙂

Since the girls’ birthdays are so close together, we normally have one big party for both of them. This year, instead of a party, they asked for a trip to Disney. We invited Gra-Gra, Pops, Mallory and Hannah to go with us, because it’s just more fun that way! Plus, Hannah had never been before!

All the girls (plus Jase!) headed down to Orlando early on Monday morning to squeeze in a little outlet-shopping time. Justin and Pops drove down on Tuesday evening, just in time to rest up before we went into the parks on Wednesday.

Our first park was Magic Kingdom, because it’s just not Disney if you don’t go there first! It was Hannah’s first trip, and I wanted her to see the castle right away. It’s just so magical. By the time we checked into our resort (All-Star Music) and got to Magic Kingdom, it was around 10:30. We had fast passes for Splash Mountain, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and to see Anna and Elsa. We rode Goofy’s Barnstormer, the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Tomorrowland Speedway and visited the Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor. We also saw Tinkerbelle, Princess Tiana and Naveen, and Princess Merida (from Brave). We took full advantage of the rider swap option (it let the girls ride each ride twice, once with each parent since someone had to sit out with Jase).

We shut down the parks almost every night. The first night, it was midnight by the time we left! Jase was such a trooper!

Thursday was Libby’s birthday and she requested dinner with the princesses, so we spent the day at Magic Kingdom again. We castle-hopped from the Beast’s castle for lunch to Cinderella’s castle for dinner. Libby was so excited to meet all the princesses. They gave each girl a birthday cupcake and sang Happy Birthday to them at dinner–it was quite the show!

We met Ariel in her grotto. (My one complaint about Disney is that they don’t provide good lighting for photos. I think they are more concerned with a ‘realistic environment’ or something like that.)

Enchanted Tales with Belle is so much fun! It’s the story of Belle and the Beast, but each person gets to participate as a character from the story. Libby was Belle’s father, Kyndall was a dancing plate–Justin was even chosen as a castle guard!

We started off day three with breakfast at Chef Mickey’s. It’s a buffet breakfast with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto. (Character meals are the way to go, y’all. Each character comes around to your table while you are eating to sign autographs and take photos. No waiting in long lines to see one character at a time. Definitely sign up for the meal plan and make reservations for the character meals the next time you go to Disney!)

Jase thought the characters were something else. He especially liked Minnie Mouse. I think he just wanted to eat her nose!

After breakfast, we traveled to Epcot. Epcot is my least-favorite Disney park, but it does have Test Track and Soarin’, so you can’t just skip it altogether. The girls really enjoyed searching for hidden Mickey’s throughout the different countries. And the fireworks were amazing, so there’s that.

And if you are still with me after all that, bless you. We’ll take a break now, but be sure to check back on Friday for part 2 of our Disney family vacation!